With the preseason and training camp coming to an end, teams around the NFL have finalized their 53-man rosters.
However, teams will still make transactions as they scour the waiver wire for players who might be of help to their rosters. Now, the Cincinnati Bengals have been linked to a player who failed to make his team’s final roster, but could help solve an issue at a position of need for Cincinnati.
Cincinnati Bengals Linked to Former First-Round Pick
ESPN’s Adam Schefter announced that the Chicago Bears had released former first-round pick offensive tackle Jedrick Wills during the team’s final roster cuts.
That led Ace Boogie of the Wincinnati podcast to link the team to the offensive lineman, as he posted on X: “Being that the Bengals had a joint practice with the Bears they had plenty of eyes on him.”
Meanwhile, Bengals on SI’s Russell Heltman wrote about Cincinnati potentially targeting Willis: “The 27-year-old spent a year away from the NFL last year and couldn’t quite find his footing in Chicago. Wills posted a mediocre 54.2 Pro Football Focus grade in 65 preseason snaps this summer and had sub-55 grades in 2024 and 2023 while rounding out his time with the Cleveland Browns.
Cincinnati may just end up rolling with the pieces it has on the roster, but Wills joins a bunch of veteran tackle options that are still lingering on the market.”
The Cincinnati Bengals are searching for a swing tackle after the team released veteran offensive lineman Cody Ford, who fulfilled that role last season. Regarding what he’s looking for out of a backup tackle, head coach Zac Taylor said, “Just trust that the backup tackle is going to go in and win the game, and we want to keep playing the way that we play. You’ve just got to be able to trust through the game. And so, I think there’s probably a competition there.”
Jedrick Wills Player Profile
Wills did not sign with a team during the 2025 season, as he stated he was rehabbing knee injuries. He then joined the Chicago Bears this offseason, but failed to make the team. He has not appeared in an NFL game since the 2024 season.
Wills has started 57 games during his NFL career. He had ups and downs during his brief tenure with the Chicago Bears. Bengals on SI’s Gene Chamberlain noted that Wills had some impressive moments, as he wrote that Wills “has begun showing he can move people out in the running game in practice.”
However, Chamberlain also stated that Wills frustrated head coach Ben Johnson. Johnson said, “We had a couple false starts the other day, things that we have to clean up, because he’s thinking about it.” While the Bears and Johnson ultimately chose to move on, that did not mean that Johnson did not see encouraging signs out of the former first-round pick. Johnson also said of Wills, “With Jed you see the talent. You can go on to one-on-ones, and he does as good as anybody taking a set and punching and keeping guys away from the quarterback.”
Perhaps Cincinnati taking a flyer on a player who is clearly talented and has had success in the NFL could be worth a shot.
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